dogs chasing horses

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mole

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is there anything that can be done about it?

i fell off yesterday as a result of a dog that looked like a wolf spooking then chasing my pony. then the owners of said dog did nothing to help me.

what has happened to people these days? they looked pleased that their dog had chased my pony and made me fall off and then watched me limp a mile back to the main road to wait for help - they just drove off!! some people are just unbeliveable!!

pony was long gone into the woods by then and i was in no fit state to be chasing after her. luckily my husband saw her on the busy main road with a line of cars behind her and ushered her into the nearest farm yard.

we are both ok. stiff and sore tho. its just the attitude of these people i cant get over. one day they will get their comeupance.

rant over :)
 
I would report it. Did you get their number plate? Your lucky that your horse didn't cause an accident.

Glad you are both home safe and well but you need to tell the police. What if it happens again to someone else?
 
How awful. Poor you.

I would report it with as much information as you have - maybe try the police and your local animal welfare officer at the Council, if there is one.

If you think this is likely to happen again, if you take the same route, I would start to keep a diary with photos of any injuries to you and the horse.

Again, how awful. I hate things like that.

and think KARMA - hopefully they will get some.
 
I cant beleive they didnt help you or at least apologise! but people seem to be getting worse, Personally have no problem with dogs being off the lead but if I see a horse and rider dog is called back asap and put on the lead till we pass, why cant other people have consideration for others.
 
You should report the incident to the local dog wardent - and also the police, supplying the car number plate.

Whilst I certainly will always stick up for the rights of the dog walker and owner, what happened to you yesterday is just awful. And the fact that no one came to your assistance is appalling.
 
God knows what the laws are surrounding dogs and horses. Have often wondered this myself. There is a dog on one of my regular hacks (a dalmation). The owner lets it roam wherever. Quite often it sticks to just outside the boundary of the house but I have seen it miles from its home. It can be quite nasty when confronted with horses. It growl, barkss and bites at their heals. I have been known to try and smack it with my whip but am in fear of what would happen if I got caught doing this?? I bet I would be the one to get into trouble. My plan is when I next see it (they dont live to far from my house) out on the road away from where it lives to catch it and take it to the dog warden/RSPCA. If the owners have to pay everytime they want their dog back they may keep it confined to their garden. Obviously this wouldnt have helped your situation though.
 
I could lend you my arab.

Where she used to be stabled there was a footpath through the field. Most of the dog owners were wonderful and never let their dogs chase the horses however there's always one idiot! I was riding my other horse along the lane that runs next to the field, so I could see everything but was unable to do anything about it (very frustrating).

Anyway his dog was straining at the lead, wanting to chase the horses, so he let it off the lead! Said dog starts really chasing the horses and snapping at them. After two circuits of the field at gallop (owner ignoring his dog completely) my arab had an idea. She turned around and tried to stamp on the dog (she missed but not by much)! Think of when the 'Black stallion' kills the snake in the film. The dog decided that having his head squashed wouldn't be fun so he ran off.

Since then every dog that is not on a lead gets quickly 'escorted' out of her field. Where we are now we don't have footpaths but we have/borrow sheep and and when the farmer moves them with his sheep dog we always put her in a different paddock. Even so she will be at the fence with a 'let me at him!' look.
 
I used to ride past a farm in Jo'burg when I was younger. It was the only way back to the yard and we used to dread it because these two Rottie / Dobie types used to come flying out of the driveway and snap at our horses' heels and run round them, barking madly. One day my poor horse had just had enough and he swung round and double-barrelled one of the dogs, sending it flying across the drive. The other dog carried on barking as per usual, but strangely enough the next time we rode past the house, the driveway gate was shut...

I hope you and your pony are ok and both make a full recovery, physically and emotionally - that is just horrible for you! And I agree with the other posters - if you can, you should report it and just give as many details as possible. Chances are, if it has happened to you, it would have happened to someone else.
 
Report it - because heaven forbid, if it happens again, then the police will not be able to reference the previous incident. I am glad you are OK and it must have seen like the longest walk home with the biggest worry about where your pony was. Owners might have been too cowardly to approach you and thought you were OK if you were walking (please note, I am not in ANY way excusing their behaviour).

On another note, might well be worth ensuring you have your mobile phone with you on hacks. I am just as bad - have 2 phones and have to be reminded to take one with me but definately worth doing.

I have dogs but they are both horse trained but took a bit of training to get them to have respect..
 
I'd report it, totally irresponsible and not even apologetic and willing to help it's out of order and worrying as they sound like they could easily let it happen again

A friend of mine had a dog jump at the horse and it latched on to the saddle, she fell off and horse galloped off with dog still attached by it's teach to the saddle, it let go eventually and would you believe the owners tried to bill her for thevet bills to the dog! Her saddled was wrecked and horse freaked. Needless to say she didn't pay.

I was out once when a black lab came around the corner in the woods, started running at us teeth bared and ready to attack it was just a few yards from us ready to launch when the owners came around the corner and yelled and luckily it responded to them instantly, never been so scared in my life.
 
I wear a high vis saying ' STAY BACK THIS HORSE WILL KICK' it keeps absolutely everything and everyone away from me.
 
Oh god what a horrible experience! Definitely call the police. I just don't understand some people - who in their right minds watches someone fall off and doesn't run to assist then it was their dog who chased the horse!

One of the hacks I go on has lots of footpaths appearing and it's my worst nightmare (OK, one of many!) to have a dog appear then bark/chase/threaten my mare whilst out hacking as she freaks at the birds in the tree... lol so I am not looking forward to when we finally meet the walkers with their dogs.

x
 
Yes we had a high viz jacket saying "slow down and stay back if you like your car!" - it certainly worked with drivers! (My mum's cob used to sit on car bonnets if they got too close!)
I'd deff report it to the local dog warden and the police - tell the police that its lucky your horse didn't cause an accident much worse than you falling off!
We have a woman near us at the moment who comes every morning with between 5 and 7 dogs, not one is on a lead or under control and they will attempt to snap at the horses' faces and our feet - the lady is quite elderly and I don't know how she manages!! We're going to report to the dog warden.
Good job you were both okay and I hope you both fully recover soon!!
 
My daughter's old welshie got bitten on the rump by a border collie that launched itself at him. It did break the skin in an L shape but no stitches were needed. The farmer's wife said that the dogs had been let out and that she would cover any vet bills. We never had another problem with them.
 
So it didn't do this then.....

27feb09-009028-85.jpg
 
This Saturday, just gone, my horse and I were attacked by a very vicious Collie dog who ran out of a driveway, into the road and grabbed onto my horses tail, trying to pull him to the ground. I have no idea how I stayed on, but if any cars had been travelling on the road where it happened we would probably have been killed, as there were a few seconds of total panic and terror for both me and my poor horse. I reported it to the Police, as this dog has attacked other riders before, and it now looks like the dog will be euthanized after my call. I feel a bit bad about that, but then again what stupid people the owners must be, to have such an aggressive dog, and not have any gates or fencing around their property? It was just a time bomb waiting to go off ... and on Saturday it went off.

A few weeks ago I fell off because a dog came out of the woods and ran, round and round my horse in a really frantic and crazy manor. My horse went up, down, sideways and I was soon out the side door. That was a horrible situation, and I did fall off and hurt myself, but in that instance the dog was not being aggressive and was overexcited about seeing a horse, so I just had some SERIOUS words with its owner!
 
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mole said:
is there anything that can be done about it?

i fell off yesterday as a result of a dog that looked like a wolf spooking then chasing my pony. then the owners of said dog did nothing to help me.

what has happened to people these days? they looked pleased that their dog had chased my pony and made me fall off and then watched me limp a mile back to the main road to wait for help - they just drove off!! some people are just unbeliveable!!

pony was long gone into the woods by then and i was in no fit state to be chasing after her. luckily my husband saw her on the busy main road with a line of cars behind her and ushered her into the nearest farm yard.

we are both ok. stiff and sore tho. its just the attitude of these people i cant get over. one day they will get their comeupance.

rant over :)
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Its a shame you didn't get their car's registration, and whilst typing it into your mobile phone, informing them that you'd be suing them. That's what I would do, I'm afraid, as the last dog incident I was unfortunate enough to be caught up in has left me feeling really angry., and the more careless dog owners who get a fright themselves the better!

This is the situation in terms of the law:
DANGEROUS DOGS
Under the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act an offence could be committed if the dog is dangerously out of control in a public place. Even if it is not in a public place, but in a place where the dog is permitted to be and it bites someone or puts a person in fear, the owner could still be prosecuted. In this instance you should telephone the police.
 
thanks for all your kind words. normally my pony would not react like this but to her the dog looked and behaved like a wolf and she was trying to save her skin.

she and her tack were all intact when she was found so she must have had a plan and was on her way home and used the paths and roads rather than blindly running thro the trees - that i am glad about. means she was using her brain not just bolting.

i was annoyed that i didnt take a reg no. but i was busy trying to get people to find my pony and help me. also i was angry that pony had dissappeared and that i cldnt get back on and finish my ride!! isnt it funny what becomes important?!
 
I had a dog attack my mare and rip her chest open, it was a staffordshire bull terrier type and at one point was under her stomach trying to bring her down. Absolutely terrifying, and very expensive. I didn't get owner details unfortuantely, as I was in no fit state after being thrown off in the melee and then having to run about a mile to find the mare, who had luckily outrun the dog. People really are horrid these days and don't seem to care a damm about the safety of others.
 
I would do whatever i could to hit or scare off the dog I wouldent wait for the owners to sort it as it most likely if the dog wasnt under control in the first place they wouldn't be able to even if they wanted to.. I think the answer is to be proactive and devise and think what you would do in the event of a dog attack or just a badly behaved family pet.
ie lash out with a crop or maybe if its a known problem in the area pepper spray might be usefull, be prepared to take reg nos of cars and keep a note of stupid people with badly behaved dogs ...
 
Unfortunately dog attacks are becoming quite common.

If you have an incident with a dog then always tell the police that you where in fear of your own life as this means they can take the matter forward. If you state it was the horse that was at risk then they will do nothing. Ask for a police incident number as this will ensure it is logged in to the system.

Always contact the local district Council dog warden as well.

If you are having a problem with a particular dog even if it is within it's own grounds then your District Council can use the 'Enviromental Act (as ammended)' to take action against the owner and if necessary ensure action is taken to keep the dog well away from the boundary fencing of the property if it is causing a nuisance to passers by. This has been done several times wheer there are nuisance dogs kept in properties adjacent to bridleways of public highways.
 
I was told, many years ago, that horses were considered as livestock and any dog seen attacking livestock can be destroyed on request of the livestock owner. Not sure that's 100% true tho.

I've been chased lots of times by dogs. Luckily my horse got used to dogs and used to just stand still. I used to take a long schooling whip with me and if a dog started to try and bite my horse I would smack it as hard as I could. Doing this usally attracts the attention of a concerned owner but only coz you've hit there dog :rolleyes:
 
has it always been like this or has it got worse, I dont ever recall having issues with dogs when hacking maybe we are lucky to have well behaved owners and dogs around us
 
we passed a cottage one day and a woman was actually telling her dog to 'go get the horses' and doing all the go getem noises. Thankfully the dog had more sense than her and ignored her. I couldn't believe it, i just said to her, 'i really don't think that would be a good idea you stupid woman'.
Glad op and her pony are ok. Good thing about this thread is that it might act as a trigger to help people to think about getting reg no. if anything like this happens to them
 
Glad you and your pony are ok OP, I have lost count the amount of times B has been chased / charged at by dogs. Once we were walking along and we had 3 snarling alsations circling him and going for his back legs!! Needless to say I screamed at them and that soon caught the attention of the owner! Luckily B is good with dogs and so is L but you just know for a fact if they had kicked the dog it would be MY fault!
 
people like that make me sick. dont they care about anyone else? or there own dog which could quite easily be kicked and killed? i have never had a problem *touch wood* but i do always carry a stick, just in case...
glad OP and her pony are ok- must have been terrifying xx
 
HappyHorses:) said:
I was told, many years ago, that horses were considered as livestock and any dog seen attacking livestock can be destroyed on request of the livestock owner. Not sure that's 100% true tho.

I've been chased lots of times by dogs. Luckily my horse got used to dogs and used to just stand still. I used to take a long schooling whip with me and if a dog started to try and bite my horse I would smack it as hard as I could. Doing this usally attracts the attention of a concerned owner but only coz you've hit there dog :rolleyes:
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That's what I thought too.
 
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/RevisedStatutes/Acts/ukpga/1953/cukpga_19530028_en_1

“livestock” means cattle, sheep, goats, swine, horses, or poultry, and for the purposes of this definition “cattle” means bulls, cows, oxen, heifers or calves, “horses” includes asses and mules, and “poultry” means domestic fowls, turkeys, geese or ducks.

It does state "agricultural land" so might not apply elsewhere.
 
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